Finally, Qhatam juga..

Alhamdulillah, last Friday I managed to Qhatam reading Al-Quran, the first since my return from Hajj. Honestly, I think it’s kind of pathetic that I only manage to Qhatam once since. I think I have to read more. Finally it dawn on me that maintaining "Hajj Mabrur" is extremely difficult than performing the Hajj itself.

Reading the Quran, to me, is central to being a Muslim, other than performing the prayer. A hadits (not in exact word) from the messenger Muhammad s.a.w. is that he leave behind two treasures for us Muslim i.e. The Quran and his Sunnah, for whomever who follow them would never be lost forever.

Understandably to make a habit of reading the Quran is extremely challenging especially when we have difficulties to pronounce some verses, let alone understand what it means? Other than the promise of reward in the hereafter for reciting even a single alphabet the motivation to persevere through I would agree is very weak. Until I found one beautiful Story within a forwarded e-mail from a friend.

Why Do We Read Al-Quran Even Though We Don’t Understand A Single Arabic Word?

An old American Muslim lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Quran. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could. One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa! I try to read the Quran just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Quran do?”

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.” The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Grandpa, it’s useless!”

“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. “Son, that’s what happens when you read the Quran. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Allah in our lives.”

Note: I agree with my friend's 2 cents thought who forwarded me this story. He said that if we understand the meaning, the changes in us will be more out standing and far-reaching. He's absolutely right.

If we read the Quran's translation, we will find some verses that point exactly to the important of reading the Quran. Just to quote a few: -

Ar-R'ad 13:28. "Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah. For without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction."

Al-Ankabut 29:45. "Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do."

Faatir 35:29. "Those who rehearse the Book of Allah, establish regular Prayer, and spend (in Charity) out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a commerce that will never fail"

So true are His words.

Cat Steven embraced Islam after he read the Quran Translation word for word. Now, he is Yusuf Islam. And what profound changes has he brought to Islam, particularly to the west, where he has most influenced on. May Allah bless him.

From my own experience, it is more interesting when I could read the Quran and at the same time understood the words. Although I never learn Arabic, but by reading it more frequently and occasionally reading the translation, I could pick up most common words especially those that Malay language has borrowed from Arabic.

To illustrate my example, try reading the whole translation of Surah Yusuf. We have heard Yusuf a.s. story at some point of our life before, we know the plot, the intrigue and the love affair Zulaikha has for him and how his brothers treated him. Now, try to read the Quran, and try to picture the story in your heart while you are reading it, InsyaAllah you would find that its like reading a story book which you could immerse in the details and understand it literally. Thus is my experience.

Probably, one could start with easy surah like Al-Asr or Al-Ikhlas and maybe upgrade oneself to some longer surah like Ar-Rahman. Ar-Rahman, I found it unique as it’s words are repetitive and one could easily pick up the language slowly but surely. I am no master nor have successfully applied it, but it does enhance my skill of Arab language (by a few words… for now). I could not speak or find a choice of word when trying to have a conversation, but at least, I could understand a little bit if an Arab speaks to me. I could at least understand the topic of the Khutbah during Jumaat Prayer and not just drift away to sleep through the whole session.

To conclude my post today, as a humble reminder to myself as well as my family and friends, read the Quran, the more the better, and make an effort to understand it as much as possible.
Since Ramadhan is around the corner, I hope I could read more and try to Qhatam the Quran again at least once during the Ramadhan. To achieve the stretch target, I would have to read at least 4 pages after each prayer. (Thanks Lina who forwarded me the email on simple calculation to finish the Quran in a month) InsyaAllah, if I miss the target, I still have at least 2 weeks to catch up before the arrival of Ramadhan...